It is not uncommon down here in the Nashville, TN area for folks 
to have freezers or refrigerators in their garages. Ya know, we gotta have some place to store our liquid refreshments, pizza and other manly man culinary delights other than the the household refrigerator. Besides that, we need a place to hang when we get thrown in the proverbial dog house or garage, so why not have our basic needs close at hand.
to have freezers or refrigerators in their garages. Ya know, we gotta have some place to store our liquid refreshments, pizza and other manly man culinary delights other than the the household refrigerator. Besides that, we need a place to hang when we get thrown in the proverbial dog house or garage, so why not have our basic needs close at hand. Most folks just plug these appliances in a convenient outlet never giving a second thought as to whether it is ground fault protected. Why should it matter? Read on my friends...
GFCI's work on current differential not necessarily a path to ground. The circuitry 'senses' the current differential between the hot and neutral legs and if there is more than 5mA difference, the circuit trips.
So how does that affect you and your basic essentials needed for survival?
Well, some older appliances set up eddie currents that can back feed
through the electrical system giving a false reading to the ground fault device causing it to fault out and trip the circuit. And we all know what a bummer it is to come home to a freezer full of ruined meat or even worse - warm beer! Can we say Pa-Tooie...
through the electrical system giving a false reading to the ground fault device causing it to fault out and trip the circuit. And we all know what a bummer it is to come home to a freezer full of ruined meat or even worse - warm beer! Can we say Pa-Tooie... The solution is quite simple. Have an electrician install a dedicated circuit for these appliance and your worries are over except for, how do I sneak into the kitchen and cook the pizza...
Wishing all my fellow drips and tweeps a G-r-r-r-reat day... 8-)
If you or someone you know is purchasing a home in Brentwood, Franklin, Nashville, Spring Hill or Thompson's Station in the Davidson or Williamson county area of Middle Tennessee and would like more information about getting a home inspection, give us a call at 615.661.0297. You can visit us online at www.completehomeinspectionsonline.com - Check out our monthly newletter
Your building consultants for life...
Follow me on Twitter...
By TwitterButtons.com
By TwitterButtons.com
You can follow me on FaceBook too...
© 2009 michael thornton | complete home inspections, inc. | brentwood, tn | 615.661.0297 | www.completehomeinspectionsonline.com
Large enough for excellent service... Small enough to care...
For all your inspection needs in the Brentwood, Franklin & Nashville TN real estate markets
Call us today:
Complete Home Inspections, inc.
The guys with the hats...
615.661.0297
Brentwood, TN
Scan the QR code below for business card info
Very nice. Post of this sort are helpful to the consumers. I've seen many older homes that needed outlets upgraded. I've even seen three prong plug wiring plugged into two pronged outlets. Eeeek.
I come from a family of electricians: my father, three brothers, cousins, husband and son!
GFCI's receptacles CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE! I would be a widow if they did not exist.
We lost our freezer one time. With my husband being an outdoors man we lost some good food. Shrimp, loin,tuna ETC. Since then he has had our homes wired just for that appliance.
Just have to say I saw Tennessee for the first time last week and it is a beautiful state. We stayed in nashiville one night too.
Great advice in this post too.
Michael, Thank you for reminding us of this. Excellent post. You may have just made a major difference in someone's day today!
Michael,
Good advice. I see many older homes that definitely need to upgrade this feature! Thanks for the explanation!
Congrats on the feature!
This is an excellent recommendation.
Many people in NJ do the same...
Michael, that is great advice, thank you!
Now I have some great advice for you. Get your own oven in the garage.... no sneaking around to cook your pizza that way. And maybe a large flat screen tv? The possibilities are endless.
Michael - that's a violation of the 2008 NEC if it's in a kitchen, garage, unfinished basement, or pretty much any other place where a GFCI is required. Most states have adopted the 2008 NEC, including TN. I've heard some heated debates on this topic.
There are two reasons that dedicated outlets can no longer be used in areas where GFCIs are required: new GFCIs are much less likely to 'nuisance trip', and old appliances that leak current on to the ground wire are actually defective, and should be replaced.
There is a long discussion about this on the Mike Holt web site.
Hi Michael - This is very good information. Thanks for posting and congrats on your feature!
Mary
Michael...
Anything with a motor can cause secondary currents. Good post.
Very good reminder Michael ! I had a dedicated line run to our new freezer in our bsmt and it saves any fear of overloading.
Great information !
Reubin, While what you said is true, the local building department and fire marshall have the final say so as to what is adopted and what is not. There are many older properties built before this went into effect. I see these older style GFCI's all the time. You would be surprised how many I see tripped...
Michael; congrags on the feature. Great reminder. I do see a lot of older homes, and when it comes to the home inspection the GFCI's always come up on the home inspections.
Okay can I say I am impressed
Bo
Michael, what I hate is when I find them tripped and I am the one that tripped them somewhere else in the home:)
Like the humor and some very good advice! Never thought about the complications! Thanks for the post.
Charles... I know what you mean. I make it a point to find ALL GFCI's when I am in the house. There have been a few that I could not find. I contact the agents to let the home owner know or call me so I can reset them... Many an inspector has purchased a freezer full of meat...
Michael, thanks for pointing out the importance for having a GFCI outlet in the garage. Congratulations on the feature.
Can you imagine the reaction I get up here in Wyoming when I tell these cowboys and roughneck oil rig workers that the two or three refrigerators they have in the garage to cool their "liquid refreshments" are not plugged into the proper type recepticle??!!!
Michael, I must admit I saw this on Lenn's blog first. But, I subscribe to your blog, too. Great post. Common sense is lacking in so many ways. Starting a fire in the garage is never a good idea....
Great post we have prevented meny fires by helping people know these things before something bad happens.
Michael, great tip and so right on. Why is it that because it is the "garage" we don't think about a GFI breaker.
I really like specific post like yours, and I want to do articles like this to the home base. Thanks for adding your humor. I love pizza and beer, but as a health nut I have to hold myself back. I do allow for 2 pizzas and 2 steaks a year, otherwise it's like banning a book, you just gotta read it.ichang
GREat tip....thats a new one to me...we used to have a freezer in our garage...but then my husband pulled in too far and drove into it, and dented the door, breaking the seal....no more freezer for us!
Michael: THis is where the dedicated plug come in handy. ( You know.. the single Plug ) I have this on my freezer !
Michael -
Thanks for a thought-provoking and quite relevant post!
You know, "Beer Fridges" may have gotten their beginning in TN - but they have made their way up to IL as well.
We in Chicago know where to keep our beer cold - and are often thrown into the doghouse! Convenience is key here.
Appreciate the safety tip as well!
DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
Michael....Great post...I'm showing this to my husband, as we have a fridge in the basement. I 'd hate to have WARM beer...
Michael
Thanks for the info. I was expecting to see pictures of the contents after the GFCI tripped. So glad you didn't do that.
I noticed Reuben (Minn) used the C word!
Home inspectors in Kentucky can't use the C word. We aren't allowed to reference Code -- and that is a good thing.
Great advice and you are so right. We finally had installed a separate fuse and outlet for my microwave.
Michael,
I hate finding freezers in garages, especially if I cannot readily access the GFCI reset. Sometimes I just flat exclude the garage GFCI's. I know too many inspectors who had to buy food that was spoiled as a result of a GFCI not being reset or not resetting right.
Pa-tooie! What a way to start off my Sat. morning! With a belly laugh. FUNNY! Here's my take: you start with the dedicated circuit, then don't sneak . . . get a microwave, or little bake oven. Next, plug in a mini-TV . . . you've got to be able to do something constructive while the pizza is baking! After that, put in the Lazy-Boy recliner, and viola! Paradise. PLUS . . . the wifey pooh won't even know you're gone. Trust me on this one, we function on the out of sight, out of mind method. It's a win/win for all!!
Plug in, Switch on, Tune out . . . or something like that :-)
I can only imagine what it would be like to find out your freezer had lost power, maybe for weeks. It would be attacting a lot of insects.
Very helpful post. Thanks for sharing...My husband's pizza and occasional beer habit thanks you too ;-)
Hi Michael -- I had no clue about the eddie currents with older appliances, so thanks for sharing that, good stuff to know! A neighbor of mine has an entire kitchen in his garage so he doesn't have to steam/heat/smell up the place for large gathering cookings -- now that's cookin!
Dude, does this mean I have to unplug the extension cord I have running from my min-fridge to the neighbor's outside recepticle? (He hasn't noticed yet......I dug a trench and buried the cord) No way am I going to drink warm beer. Ralph
Michael...
I'm thinking in the summer months if you leave the Pizza outside long enough it would cook. If you drink enough of that Beer you won't mind the sun baked Pizza all that much :)
Honestly, that's all I can think of to say. It's such a manly man post ya know :)
TLW...ROAR!
Great tip and post. I'd hate to ruin my beer!
Excellent post as always Michael; I have a two dog doghouse but only one dog, so, I'm always welcome. 7 different dogs through the years, still one wife. Lucky for me, not in that doghouse too often.
Before home inspectors, I had an electrician tell me that if the folks have a freezer or fridge in the garage they need to NOT have a GFCI out there for the very reason you've given.
What the hell!!!! If it's in the garage it should be up to the code that Men require and need. LOL
I have a fridge in the garage, full of stuff my wife put in the freezer, and I never even gave this one thought.
Thanks for causing me to get this updated. I don't want to live out there on an extended basis.
Michael... I need to find the post that gives the good argument to get the man-fridge in the first place. How do I justify that cost to the wife in the first place?
Michael, so true. We have one outside, but had a separate appliance circuit set up for it and the freezer. ;-)
Hi Michael,
Great post. It is very important to keep the man fridge (at least at my house) running in tip top shape at all times. :o)
-Lisa
We've got to have a fridge in the man-pit. And this is a great reminder to have it wired correctly.
We have a LOT of appliances in the garage in Texas. Scary thought that all the good food would go to waste! Just took a peak out in my garage we are up to date. My husband doesn't have a refrigerator...just lots of power tools.
Out here we also plug in refrigerators and freezers outside. That's so we can go out and enjoy the weather without being too far from our margaritas.
As stated above GFCI protection is NOW required for the garage 'outlets'. No single recp. allowed anymore. If your area is using the 2008 NEC.